Stephen Daisley

Like a first-time bingo caller in a provincial community centre, Derek Mackay trilled with an uneasy mix of excitement and nerves. The prize table looked meagre indeed but the Finance Secretary tried his best to gin everyone up. Economic growth of 0.7%! A new method for calculating inflationary poundage uplift! And who could resist theContinue reading "Bingo! As Mackay called the numbers, Sturgeon rifled through purses in the cloakroom"

Prepare to learn this week that you are callous and unfeeling. It will be implied, hinted, and even openly charged that you are selfish and mean-spirited; that you care more about your Tuscan villa and the winter home in Gstaad than those scraping by on the breadline. Finance Secretary Derek Mackay delivers his draft budgetContinue reading "Raising taxes would only reward ten years of SNP failure"

All that was missing was the empty bowl and the raggedy mite mumbling, ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’ Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard forwent the conventional Q&A format of First Minister's Questions in favour of an amateur dramatics production of Oliver Twist. Attempting to pin down Nicola Sturgeon on the future of local governmentContinue reading "What a Twist! It’s Artful truth Dodger Nicola"

‘Stop talking down Scotland’ goes the perennial cry of the Scottish Nationalist, which roughly translates to ‘Stop pointing out unpalatable facts about Scottish Nationalism’. It’s not enough that the SNP governs every aspect of our lives, from how much tax we pay to where tobacconists can display their shameful contraband, they expect us to beContinue reading "Time to hit the brakes and admit it’s been a bumpy ride, Nicola"

Ratting on your colleagues is a daily hazard at Holyrood but it's not every day you see a First Minister brief against herself. Nicola Sturgeon breezed into FMQs and outlined plans to shut a lane of the £1.35billion Queensferry Crossing for repairs. Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie asked when ministers learned the bridge would close.Continue reading "Nicola Sturgeon’s credibility gap is impossible to bridge"

Michael Gove doesn't have the look of a cat-strangler. You could leave your miniature dachshund in the care of the Environment Secretary and, at worst, it might find itself embroiled in a hapless Tory leadership plot.  There are, however, a great many people out there -- perhaps millions -- who think Mr Gove would gladlyContinue reading "Why fake news is not about Michael Gove being beastly to a bichon frise"

As Kezia Dugdale was put through her paces on I'm a Celebrity, her successor Richard Leonard, salt-of-the-earth Yorkshireman, was making his debut at First Minister's Questions. Miss Dugdale found herself crawling through a tunnel of fish guts deep in the Australian jungle. Fish guts? Luxury! Richard Leonard could only dream of having a tunnel of fishContinue reading "Nicola nipped by Yorkshire terrier’s bite"

When is a £2billion windfall a cause for righteous indignation? When you’re the SNP and eternally overdrawn from the bank of disgruntlement.  Philip Hammond unveiled the additional money to cheers from the Tory benches during yesterday’s Budget. Three hundred miles northwards, Derek Mackay seethed. The Scottish Government Finance Secretary greeted the boost to his coffersContinue reading "A £2billion windfall but the SNP is still overdrawn at the bank of grievance"

Politician of the Year is a concept to be viewed with the utmost suspicion. It's like Top Ten Estate Agents or World's Greatest Traffic Warden. Surely giving them an award only encourages them. Ruth Davidson has picked up the gong for the second year in a row, a reflection of the remarkable gains made byContinue reading "Ruth is headed for the top. Lazy Tory passengers should alight immediately."